Six-wheel railway-car truck



Feb. 12 1924. l 1,483,638

J. A. LAMONT SIX-WHEEL RAILWAY GAR TRUCK Filed Dec. 9, 1921 STATEQ mamas JOHN AQLAMONT, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO AILX'IERICAN STEEL FOUNDRIES, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

SIX-WHEEL RAILWAY-CAR TRUCK.

Application filed December 9, 1921. Serial No. 521,077.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, JOHN A. LAMONT, a citizenof the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Six-VVheel Railway- Car Trucks, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to six-wheel railway car trucks. One of the objects of this invention is to provide a simple, efiicient and improved six-wheel railway car truck in whichthe wheel base is reduced to a minimum and in which. the side frames and equalizing levers are designed to cooperate with each other and with other parts of the truck in a manner to meet all of the requirements for successful commercial use.

Another object is to provide an improved equalizing lever by means of which the wheel base of a railway car truck may be reduced to a minimum and designed in a manner to cooperate with other parts of the truck in an improved manner. I

These and other objects are accomplished by means of the arrangement disclosed on the accompanying sheet of drawings, in which Figure l is asideelevation of a railway car truck, parts being in section, embodying my invention;

Figure 2 is a fragmentary top plan view of the same truck; I

Figure 3 is a side elevation of my improved equalizing lever; and

Figure 4 is a sectional view taken in the plane of line l' l of Figure 1. The various novel features of the invention will be apparent from the following description and drawings, and will be particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

Referring to the figures of the drawings, it will be noted that the invention is illustrated in connection with a six-wheel car truckincluding an integrally formed side frame 10. having end journal box openings '11 and'also openings 13 intermediate said :box openings for the ends of bolster members 14. The side frames are supported by outside truck wheels '15, the journals of vhich are mounted in journal boxes 16, the

end journal boxes 16 being received in the journal box openings 11 and the intermediate journal box 17 being received between the inner ends of equalizing levers to be referred to later.- The load is transmitted from the bolster members 14 to the journal boxes 16 and 17 through springs 18, equalizing levers 19 and the side frame 10 in a manner to be more fully described hereinafter.

I-leretofore equalizing levers have been in the form of a single bar or beam as distinguished from a truss-like structure such as here disclosed, in which there is a tension member 20 and compression member 21 spaced apart intermediate their ends and connected at their ends. In this instance the equalizing lever is integrally formed throughout. In the plain bar or single beam type of equalizing lever heretofore used it has been necessary to provide the spring seat portion of the lever with a considerable depth in order to successfully meet the strains transmitted thereto. In providing the lever with a relatively great depth at the spring seat the available vertical clearance has been limited and accordingly it has been necessary to proportionately widen the bolster ends which either bear directly upon the equalizing levers or upon the springs interposed between the bolster members and equalizing levers. As a result of thus widening the bolster members it was necessary to provide considerable space between the wheels, thereby providing a wheel base longer than a minimum and at the same time the weight of the parts necessarily,

under such conditions, being relatively great.

By means of this new form or truss type of equalizing lever it is possible to reduce the space between the wheels to a minimum consistent With suitable clearance for the brakes and to provide a structure which will meet the requirements for successful commercial use. I

This truss type of equalizing lever has a bolster opening 22 formed between a vertical tie 23 and portions of the tension and compression member, the tie 23 extending between the tension and compression members and the vertical portion forming a part of the tension member. The springs 18 rest upon the spring seat 25 or intermediate portion of the tension member 20 which is sutliciently wide at this point. to accommodate a nest of springs. The compression member 21 preferably is straight throughout its length and at its outer end is provided with a transverse recess 26 which receives the upper squared portion of a pin 27 which extends between spaced walls 28 of the side frame 10. The under surface of the pin 27 is rounded and has the same curvature as the round holes 29 in the side walls 28, so that the pin 27 in each case is capable of rocking in the side frame as the inner ends of the equalizing levers rise and fall with the intermediate journal box 17 upon which the inner ends of the equalizing levers rest, said journal box 17 being received in an opening 12 formed between the inner ends of said equalizing levers. The side walls 30 of the recess26, at the outer ends of each equalizing lever 19, are convex to permit the inner ends of the equalizing leverslO a limited swinging movement. The lateral movement of the inner ends of the equalizing levers, however, is limited by the inter: engagement between the upper portions of the equalizing levers l9 and the interior surfaces of the walls 28 of the side frame. In this connection it will be noted that the side frame is of an inverted U section substantially the entire distance between the end journal boxes, and the upper part of each of the equalizing levers is made rel atively narrow to be received up in between the side walls 28 of the side frame 10 and thereby provide suitable vertical clearance between the parts and between the equalizing levers and the rails.

It will be noted also that the compression member 21 of each of the equalizing levers can be made relatively narrow and relatively shallow because of the limited span or distance from the fulcrum pin 27 to the bearing point or the intermediate journal box 17.

By means of this type of equalizing lever the wheel base is reduced to a minimum without reducing clearances in the truck, and at the same time the various parts of the truck are arranged to cooperate in a manner to successfully meet the requirements of commercial use.

It is my intention to cover all modifications of the invention falling within the spirit and scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. In a six-wheel truck, the combination of a side frame, an intermediate journal box, and an equalizing lever in the form of a truss operatively connected to said side frame and journal box whereby the wheel base is reduced to minimum.

tion of a. side frame and an equalizing lever having tension and compression members spaced intermediate their ends to form a bolster opening and associated with said side frame.

5. In a railway car truck, the combination of a side frame and an equalizing lever associated therewith and including tension and compression members spaced intermediate their ends and aconnecting member interposed between said tension and compression members.

6. In a railway car truck, the combination of a side frame and an equalizing lever associated therewith in the form of a truss including tension and compression members joined at their ends and spaced intermediate their ends, and a connecting member together with a portion of the tension member forming the side walls of a bolster open- 7. In a six-wheel truck, the combination of a side frame, which between the end journal box openings is of an inverted U section, and an equalizing lever in the form of a truss including tension and compression membe s, said compression member being located Within the side Walls of said side frame for providing vertical clearance.

8. In a six-wheel truck, the combination of a side frame, a fulcrum pin supported thereby having a rounded lower surface to permit pivoting and an upper squared bearing portion, and an equalizing lever having a squared recess for receiving the square portion of said pin whereby the inner end of said equalizing lever may rise and fall with the intermediate journal box and be maintained in proper longitudinal position.

9. In a six-wheel truck, the combination of a side frame, a fulcrum pin supported thereby having a rounded lower surface to permit pivoting and an upper squared bearing portion, and an equalizing lever havin a squared recess for receiving the squared portion of said pin whereby the inner end of said equalizing lever may rise and fall with the intermediate journal box and be maintained in proper longitudinal position, the side walls of said recess being convexed to permit a lateral swinging movement of the inner end of said equalizing lever.

10. In a six-wheel truck, the combination of a side frame having journal box openings, journal boxes mounted in said opena bolster opening, and bolster members re-- ings, equalizin levers having their outer ceived in said bolster openings for transmitends fulcrumed on said side frames and ting a load to said journal boxes through 10 their inner ends bearing upon an intermesaid equalizin levers and side frame.

diate journal box, said equalizing levers Signed at (ilhicago, Illinois, this 5th day each having tension and compression memof Dec., 1921.

hers spaced intermediate their ends to form JOHN A. LAMONT. 

